Once Upon A Kiss
by Princess Aurora
Summary: Missing Moment from GoF, the Yule Ball my way. HG It's also the very first fic I ever wrote...


Disclaimer: None of it's mine, they belong to JK. I'm just taking a stroll through their world.  
  
Summary: This is a missing scene from the Yule Ball, in GoF. It's in Ginny's point of view and she's retelling the story. The parts in between ~*~ are her memory.I hope it's not too confusing. Also, apparently on ff.net you can't have italicized text because it didn't show up so I hope it's not too unclear tell her thoughts from what she's saying..  
  
Rating: PG if you want to be really picky.  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Once Upon A Kiss  
  
"It was a snowy December evening in my 3rd year at Hogwarts. Gryffindor tower was full of both excitement and dread over the Yule Ball that was to be held that evening. Most of the girls were either in their dormitories or in the common room chatting about what color their dress robes were and how they were going to fix up their hair for the evening. I was one of the few 3rd years to be invited, so I stayed up in the 4th year girls' dormitory with your Aunt Hermione and the others to get ready.."  
  
~*~  
  
'Hermione, your hair looks wonderful!' said Ginny. Hermione's hair was sleek and shiny and swept back in a knot at the nape of her neck. 'What did you do?'  
  
'I had to use about a gallon of Sleekeasy's Hair Potion to be honest,' she confessed. She pulled robes of a light silky material, periwinkle in color, out of her trunk. 'What do you think?' she asked, holding them up.  
  
'Oh, they'll look perfect on you-' she was cut off by the entry of Parvati and Lavender who were already dressed and giggling incessantly as usual.  
  
'So, Hermione, who asked you to the ball?' Parvati asked pryingly. She and Lavender were surrounding Hermione, still giggling.  
  
Ginny came to her defense at once. 'That's none of your business! Now, leave her alone," she said.  
  
'Hmph!' Parvati and Lavender scoffed. Ginny watched, amused as they turned on their heels and scurried out of the dormitory.  
  
'How long do you reckon, before she can recover what's let of her composure when she finds out you're going with Viktor?' Ginny mused.  
  
'Ginny, I'm not going with Viktor to make people like Parvati and Lavender jealous!' Hermione replied sternly but still smiling a bit at the thought as she put a touch of makeup on and handed Ginny the little black compact. 'So, are you going to ask Harry to dance?'  
  
Ginny blushed wildly, 'Why would I ask Harry to dance? I'm going with Neville,' she said with an innocently confused look on her face which was entirely unsuccessful. Damn, she thought to herself as she felt a tell- tale blush rise in her cheeks.  
  
Hermione smiled knowingly, "Oh we both know you like him, though he may be too thick to notice it, the prat,' she said with a laugh and walked out of the dormitory with Ginny.  
  
Ginny's only reply was a deep sigh as she smiled slightly at the thought of Harry. He had the most beautiful eyes. So deep green that you feel like you could just drown in them, she thought. Ginny would have so loved to enter the Great Hall on his arm, but Neville had invited her and she had accepted, figuring that she was lucky to be going at all. Third years weren't allowed to go unless they were going with an older student.  
  
Hermione walked ahead of her and climbed out of the portrait hole. She was meeting Viktor there. She saw Parvati already waiting at the bottom of the stairway as she made her way down. She watched as Harry and Ron emerged from the boy's dormitories, as Harry spoke somewhat nervously to her and headed on his way out with her. She thought she saw him glance at her and give a quick smile for a split-second, making her heart flutter. But as she looked again, Harry had his back to her and was climbing out of the portrait hole after Parvati and her heart dropped. My imagination again, she thought.  
  
Thankfully, the few occupants left in the common room when she reached the bottom of the stairs were not paying any attention to her, for she was sure her disappointment must be evident on her face. She gazed at the spot where Harry had stood seconds before.  
  
'Ginny?' Neville had appeared behind her from out of the boy's room. He stepped toward her timidly and asked with a nervous look on his round face, 'Ready to go?'  
  
Ginny plastered a smile on her face and turned, 'Yes, let's head down shall we.'  
  
~*~  
  
"The Great Hall looked beautiful in its usual grandeur. Hagrid had put up twelve enormous Christmas trees to line the walls, and live fairies glittered above us and lit up the dance floor as we walked in." Ginny Potter reminisced.  
  
"Did you get to dance with Grandpa?" asked the young girl sitting at her feet. Long red hair was in a braid down her back; her eyes were a familiar, startling green. Her face was eager, regardless of the fact that she had heard the story of when her grandmother had fallen in love countless times.  
  
Ginny chuckled, "Not quite yet."  
  
~*~  
  
Ginny took a deep breath in as she and Neville entered the Great Hall, strangely void without the long house tables that usually stood there. She swept her gaze across the crowd of people and found Hermione chatting happily with Krum. She caught Ginny's eye and gave her a warm smile before returning her attention to her date.  
  
After everyone had filtered into the Hall, Dumbledore stood and said simply, 'Tuck in,' gesturing to the empty space. A hundred round tables appeared each seating about twelve people. She caught site of Harry and Parvati heading towards one of the top tables joined by Hermione, Viktor, Ron, and Padma. Neville waved at them and Ginny followed him to their table.  
  
The dinner was superb. The house elves really outdid themselves this time, she thought. After all of the food had vanished from the golden plates, she stood. Neville tapped her on the shoulder as The Weird Sisters began the first song of the night.  
  
He asked her hesitantly gesturing to the dancers, 'Erm, do you want to maybe-'  
  
'Sure Neville,' she cut off the rest of his timid question and pulled him out onto the dance floor when she spotted Parvati and Harry dancing.  
  
Two songs later, after her feet had been crushed too many times to count, she suggested that they stop for something to drink. Neville was pink in the face from both the dancing and his embarrassment at stepping on her toes. He apologized again sheepishly before leaving her to go get the drinks.  
  
She saw Harry, Ron and Hermione at a nearby table. Ron and Hermione were bickering yet again. She vaguely heard Ron say something about Krum and Hermione's outraged reply. She was too busy trying to work up the courage to talk to Harry to notice much. Before she had even begun to walk forward, Hermione had stormed off, and a very miffed Ron had decided to take a walk with Harry.  
  
Half an hour later, she was dancing with Neville yet again, determined to enjoy herself when she saw Harry and her brother walk back in from the grounds. When the song ended they sat and talked with them for a few minutes, until the lead singer of the band announced the last song of the night.  
  
This is my last chance, she thought, panicked. Ok, I'm calm, cool, and collected, she thought, trying to compose herself.  
  
'Hey, Harry, want to dance?' she asked cheerfully. He was hesitant at first, but she quickly said, 'Oh come on! It's the last one of the night. What do you say?'  
  
He consented a little reluctantly and taking her hand, walked out on the floor with her.  
  
This is it! Finally, she was so excited she felt she might explode! She felt Harry's hand on her waist and lifted her other hand to his shoulder. He was a little stiff and awkward at first. But not half bad, really, she mused. He hasn't stepped on my feet once either!  
  
She doubted she would have noticed otherwise anyway. The only solid thought she could hold onto was that she was finally in Harry's arms. The song started slowing to a close and she held onto that moment as long as she could, determined to remember every detail; the clean scent of him, the way his hands felt on the small of her back, the way his eyes flickered in the pale colors of the fairy lights.  
  
Without thinking, she leaned in and brushed her lips on his for a second and deepened the kiss slightly. It was then that she awoke to the real world and the fact that the song was long over; couples were no longer dancing but they were all staring at her. She pulled away abruptly to the taunts of the small crowd surrounding them. Harry's face was quite red and looking very embarrassed. And it's probably nothing compared to mine! Oh damn, what was I thinking, she thought in horror. She looked around at the faces of her fellow school mates, turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could through the big oak doors and out onto the lawn.  
~*~  
  
"You really kissed him in front of all those people, Grandma?" asked the child, giggling.  
  
"Believe it or not," she said with a grimace and nodded. She let her granddaughter climb into her lap and started to move back and forth in the old rocking chair.  
  
"Did you go back in?" asked the girl, curling up in her grandmother's lap.  
  
"Oh no, I was so embarrassed! I was stubborn too, not unlike you," she said, touching her forehead to down to the girls, making her laugh. "I guess it runs in the family," she added with a laugh.  
  
"What happened next?"  
  
"Well, I couldn't bear to go back inside and face everyone, especially him so..."  
  
~*~  
  
The fairies twinkled charmingly, light frost had covered the grass, and the night air was very cold. Ginny however, didn't notice any of this as she sprinted down the steps, her white dress robes billowing behind her. Oh my, oh my-what on earth was I-How could I just-what will he think?! I actually kissed him! She held fast to the railing of the stairs and lowered herself to the bottom step in front of the castle, jumbled thoughts racing through her head.  
  
"Oh, Harry's never going to talk to me again!" she said aloud and dropped her head into her hands. She felt sick to her stomach. 'He'll never forgive me for embarrassing him like that,' she said tearfully into her fingers.  
  
Not to mention what everyone will think of me, she thought fretfully. Silly Ginny, with her silly crush on the famous Harry Potter! She had constantly repeated to everyone who teased her that she didn't like him that way, that her feelings were that of a friend who cared about him, not of a girlfriend or a star struck little girl!  
  
Ginny started at the sound of a voice behind her, descending the steps. She cursed under her breath. She didn't want company. When she lifted her head to tell the person to go away, she saw him and gasped. He wasn't looking at her but out at the frost covered grounds and cloudless sky in front of them. She stared straight ahead and he sat down beside her. She braced herself for him to get angry with her, but he didn't say anything.  
  
'Nice night for star gazing,' he said. She looked at him, confused at the lack of harsh words, but he still didn't look at her.  
  
Probably too ashamed to, and I don't blame him, she thought, disgusted with herself for putting them both in this situation.  
  
'Harry, I owe you an apology. I had no right to-'  
  
'No, wait,' he said quickly. 'You don't have to apologize. I, er, I'm sorry about the way everyone acted in there.'  
  
She looked up at him again, completely lost. 'Y-You mean, you're not mad- at me?'  
  
'No, erm, well, it was kind of, er...nice,' he said uneasily as he finally turned his head to look her in the face, which was now crimson.  
  
'Really?' she said, unable to believe what she was hearing. She knew her face must be scarlet by now, but when she tried to duck her head, he caught her chin in his hand and turned her face up towards his.  
  
Looking straight into her eyes, he whispered, 'Really,' and leaned in toward her. He paused, his lips almost touching hers, and then kissed her. Gently, so gently it brought tears to her eyes. She was lost in a haze of sensations, and tilted her head slightly to kiss him back. Her arms felt heavy as Ginny lifted them to wrap around his neck. He cupped her face in both of his hands and stroked her jawbone with his thumbs, leaving a trail of tingling skin where he touched her.  
  
'And they live happily ever after,' she thought blissfully as they kissed. Neither noticed the light snow that had started falling and both were perfectly content.  
  
~*~  
  
Virginia Weasley-Potter carried her yawning granddaughter up the stairs and settled her in the bed with a blanket on top of her. She kissed her forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, I love you," before walking back downstairs.  
  
When she reached the bottom step, she found him leaning in the kitchen doorway, watching her with eyes that still made her heart flutter. They had both aged, he was fifty-one and she would turn fifty in a month. They'd gotten through school, jobs, a war, deaths, and the wonderful, terrifying experience of raising children. They'd been through it all side by side. They were married; parents; grandparents of a four year old! 'And still as in love as we were the night we kissed for the very first time,' she mused.  
  
She smiled and walked over to the sink, "How was your day?" she asked turning on the water to do the dishes. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist in a warm embrace, his face nestled in her neck. She lifted a hand to run her fingers through the ever unmanageable hair that she loved.  
  
Harry replied, "Bloody boring. until just now," kissing her neck lightly, still hugging her. She sighed and turned to kiss him on the mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck, the way she had for years.  
  
'And,' Ginny thought, 'they really did live happily ever after.'  
  
~B.A.Potter 


End file.
